Conveyor loading mechanisms



April 3, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,027,989

CONVEYOR LOADING MECHANISMS Original Filed Nov. 12, 1959 4 Sheet ee 1 CAPP/NG STAT/0N 40 DISCHARGE h CHUTE 42 9 J 41/ HEA TING STAT/01v 44- EJECTING STAT/ON 46 E21,} 1* VACUUM CLEANER 30 CO/VTA M1578 DETEC TOIQ 38[mm/Ne STAT/OM26 33 ZOAD/NG STAT/0N RACEWAY 26 F/LL/NG STAT/OM36[nvemors Harry Phillips (fa/7n rffldcz'ejawskz' By zheir Alla/"ReyWay/Mk April 3, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,027,989

CONVEYOR LOADING MECHANISMS Original Filed Nov. 12, 1959 4 Sheets-$heet2 April 3, 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,027,989

CONVEYOR LOADING MECHANISMS Original Filed Nov. 12, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet3 CJQCJGDCJDQC April 1962 H. PHILLIPS ETAL 3,027,989

CONVEYOR LOADING MECHANISMS Original Filed Nov. 12, 1959 4 S eets-Sheet4 United States Patent 9 l 3,027,989 CONVEYOR LOADING MECHANISMS HarryPhillips, Hamilton, and John J. Maciejowski, Wenhanl, Mass, assignors,by mesne assignments, to Ekco- Alcoa Containers, Inc., Wheeling, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Griginai appiicatiori Nov. 12, 1959, Ser. No.852,526. Divided and this application Jan. 16, 1961, Ser. No.

in Claims. (Cl. 198-20) This invention relates generally to packagingand more particularly to machinery for filling and sealing containers.The invention in its broader aspects is embodied in a machine forautomatically depositing a unit portion of a product in a container andhermetically sealing it without human hands touching the container orits prod uct.

The invention is illustrated herein as apparatus for loading emptycontainers in an automatic packaging machine and constitutes a divisionof our copending application Serial No. 852,526, filed November 12,1959.

The use of a disposable container holding a small quantity of a productwhich is to be consumed without the container subsequently beingresealed presents a definite advantage over conventional packagingmethods in the matters of convenience of handling and distribution whenthe protection atforded by the container to its contents permits lengthystorage before use. For example, food products, such as jams, syrups,condiments, etc., packaged in quantities representing single servings orportions, in receptacles known as unit containers, are becomingincreasingly more popular in restaurants, railroads, airlines, and thelike. Since these containers most often are distributed directly totheir ultimate consumers for immediate use they must be easily openedwithout the aid of tools, such as a conventional can opener.

In the past, unit containers have been made of flexible plasticmaterial. However, a major disadvantage of a container made of this typeof material is that it is susceptible to penetration by air, andaccordingly its contents, if perishable, may spoil in a relatively shorttime. To overcome this and therefore provide a longer shelf life, unitcontainers are now being made of lightweight metals, such as aluminum,which, when hermetically sealed by plastic fusion with a cover of likematerial, afford protection to their contents for a considerably longertime and furthermore can be opened without the use of tools. Since theadvantage of the system of unit portion distribution is predictedeconomically upon high quantity production, it is mandatory thatreliable, rela tively high speed machinery, either automatic orsemiautomatic, be employed in the production and handling of unitcontainers.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine for loadingcontainers automatically in a conveyor of a filling and sealing machine.

While unit containers may be used to package any product they areextremely useful as receptacles for foodstufis and an obvious advantageresides in the use of machinery which is capable of filling containerswith food and completely capping and sealing the containers without thenecessity of their ever being touched by human hands.

Accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide a machinefor automatically loading unit containers in a filling and sealingmachine in a continuous and automatic process Without the containers ortheir contents ever being touched.

While there may be numerous sizes and shapes, a typical unit containeris a shallow, cylindrical, cup-like receptacle fabricated preferably ofaluminum and having a flange 3,0Z7,39 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 extendingradially around the open end. The interior of the cup and the uppersurface of the flange are coated with a thermoplastic material, such asvinyl. An aluminum cap or cover which may be provided with a label ifdesired, and having a similar coating is hermetically sealed to theupper surface of the flange through fusing of the vinyl coatings on themating surfaces of the flange and the cover.

In accordance with the above objects and as a feature of this inventionthere is provided a loading or feeding machine comprising an endlessconveyor mounting a plurality of carriers for transporting unitcontainers one at a time successively from a loading station to afilling station and a capping station. The conveyor carriers serve aplurality of purposes and each comprises a substantially hollow bodyhaving an open top which is defined by an annular supporting lip uponwhich the flange of the unit container rests with the body portion ofthe container extending into the hollow interior.

Containers are loaded into the carriers at the loading stationcomprising this invention and which includes a second conveyor formoving the containers downwardly of an inclined raceway at the samelinear speed as the carriers and spaced apart the same distance as thecarriers are spaced on the main conveyor. By this mechanism eachcontainer is gradually settled into a carrier and upon leaving theraceway its flange is pressed into firm engagement with the carrier by apressure applying member which is also provided with means for cleaningthe container by vacuum. From the loading station the containers passaround a rotary filling machine thence to a niultihead capping stationwhich, per se, form no part of this invention. Thereafter, the containeris removed from the carrier and deposited in a chute which conveys it todistributing mechanism which likewise, per se, does not form a part ofthe present invention.

The above and other features of the invention, includ ing various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts will now be moreparticularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particularmachine embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only andnot as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features ofthis invention may be em ployed in numerous embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the various work stations of amachine embodying the invention for automatically filling and sealingunit containers;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of portions of a container carrier and a capapplying head;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, of portions of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2with the cap applying head in sealing position;

PEG. 4 is a perspective view of a unit container with its cap removed;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus for loading unfilled unitcontainers into the carriers;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an ejector mechanism for removing unitcontainers from their carriers as well as a plan view of the loadingapparatus shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line VII-VII of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a plan View, partly in section, taken on the line VliI-VEII ofFIG. 7.

Referring firstto FIG. 4, a unit container C will be seen comprising acylindrical, cup-shaped body portion 2 which is made of aluminum and hasa radially extending flange 4 around its open end. The interior of thebody or cup, as it may also be called, as well as the upper surface ofthe flange 4, is coated with thermoplastic material, such as polyvinylchloride. The coating on the flange may, as an alternative, be entirelypressure sensitive or both heat and pressure sensitive. A completecontainer includes an aluminum cap or cover 6 having substantially thesame diameter as the flange 4- and a pull tab portion 8. A label ltl maybe located on the upper surface, and on its lower surface the cap has acoating of heat and/ or pressure sensitive material, similar to that onthe flange. The cap is hermetically sealed to the upper surface of theflange 4 through fusing of the vinyl coatings or adhering of thepressure sensitive material after the container has been filled.

A plurality of container carriers 12, also called stools (FlGS. 2 and3), are constructed and arranged to carry unit containers one at a timethrough all of the work stations of the machine. In essence, eachcarrier comprises a substantially hollow body 13 provided at its upperend with an annular supporting member in the form of a lip 14 definingthe opening in the top. The interior of the carrier comprises an openingof larger diameter than that of the unit container body 2 whereby theunit container may be received in the carrier with its body 2 extendingdownwardly into the hollow interior 16, the undersurface of its annularflange a being supported on the annular lip 14.

Each of the carriers has an opening 2% in the side wall below the opentop in order to provide a passageway for a beam of light which serves todetect the absence of a container in a manner to be described in detailhereinafter. The opening 20 also serves to permit removal of anymaterial, which inadvertently enters the interior 16 of the carrier,more readily than through the top.

A plurality of carriers 12 are secured to an endless chain conveyor 22in upright position each by means of a depending stem 24 fitted into alink of the chain, as seen in FIG. 7. The carriers 12 and the chain 22form the nucleus of a conveyor system which cooperatively interconnectsall of the work stations of the machine. Referring to PEG. 1, which is aschematic diagram of the conveyor and work stations, there will be seenat the extreme left-hand portion, a loading station raceway 26 providingfor conducting preformed unit container bodies 2 to the machine. Thesebodies 2 may be supplied from a continuously operating forming press orfrom a supply of previously formed and stored containers. The raceway 26directs the bodies 2 to a loading station 28 which automaticallypositions one container body in each carrier 12. From here the thenloaded carrier is conducted to a pressing and vacuum cleaning device 3%)which removes from the container by vacuum any contaminating material,such as metallic chips, dirt and the like, which may inadvertently haveentered the container. Thence, the containers pass to the filling andcapping portion of the machine which do not form a part of the presentinven tion and are herein described only briefly. The carriers passaround an idler sprocket 32 which is provided with means forascertaining whether or not a container is positioned in each carrier.If a container is not properly located in a carrier, appropriate safetydevices (not shown) are actuated to prevent the carrier from beingfilled. The carriers next pass around a rotary filling station 36whereupon they receive their contents. The filling station may compriseeither single or multihead mechanism for filling either one or aplurality of containers simultaneously. From the filling station 36, thecarriers with the then filled containers pass a second detector 38 whichascertains again whether or not a filled container is in each carrierand, if not, actuates appropriate safety mechanism for renderinginoperative the particular capping mechanism which would otherwise capthe container. The carriers and their filled containers next pass arounda rotary capping station 40 whereupon a cap is positioned on each of thefilled containers and hermetically sealed to its flange. After sealinghas taken place, the filled and capped containers are removedautomatically from the capping mechanism and deposited in a dischargechute 42 which conveys them away from the machine to appropriatepackaging apparatus.

After the filled and capped containers have been re moved from thecarriers 12, the conveyor 22, to which the carriers are permanentlyattached, passes through a heating station 44 which heats the bodies ofthe carriers 12. It is the residual heat in the mass of the carrier bodywhich is conducted to the flange of the container by the annular lip 1to efl'ect hermetic sealing of the cap at the capping station. From theheating station 44- the conveyor passes around an ejecting station 46which serves to remove from the carriers any container which was notremoved at the discharge end of the capping station 49. From this pointthe carriers re-enter the loading station 23 to receive anothercontainer and carry it through another cycle.

The loading station embodying the invention will now be describedreferring particularly to FIGS. 5 to 8. The containers enter the machinefrom the loading station raceway 26 and pass onto a pair of spaced guideplates 50. The guide plates are located directly above the path ofmovement of the conveyor chain 22. After passing around a sprocket wheel52, which is part of the ejecting station 46 (FlGS. l and 6), theconveyor chain moves in a straight path, being guided by a pair of chainguides 54 secured to the frame 56 of the loading station. As best seenin FIG. 7, the carriers 12, which extend upwardly from the chain 22 ontheir stems 24, likewise are guided by a pair of elongated carrierguides 53 which extend lengthwise of the machine and are supported on apair of upstanding support members 60 secured to the chain guides 54.The elongated carrier guides 58 are made of self-lubricated material,such as nylon, Teflon or the like, and engage a hub 62 formed on thecarrier stem 24. Thus, it will be seen in FIGS. 5 and 7 that thecarriers are precisely guided along a predetermined linear path, eachwith its uppermost surface, as defined by the lip 14, in a horizontalplane.

Each container guide plate St} is provided with a groove 64- (FIG. 7) toaccommodate the flanges 4 of the unit containers. The guide plates 50form a downwardly inclined container guideway 51 by being mounted in themachine so that they gradually descend from left to right, as viewed inFIG. 5, toward the path of the carriers. Shortly after they reach theguide plates 58 from the raceway 26 the movement of each container C isinterrupted by a pair of spring-pressed yieldable stop members 66 (FIGS.7 and 8) which are adjustably secured in the frame of the machine.

Mounted directly above the guideway 51 on brackets 70 is a secondconveyor 72 in the form of an endless chain. The left-hand end of thechain passes around a driving sprocket 74 and the right-hand end aroundan idler sprocket 76 adjustably mounted on the machine by a movablebracket 78. The driving sprocket 74 is keyed to a shaft 80 (FIG. 5) andis driven through gears 82, 84 by a shaft 86 which mounts the sprocketwheel 52 of the ejecting station 46. The driving chain 72 is providedwith flat table top links 88. Located on every third link is a lug 90 inthe form of a disk of rubber, nylon or other resilient material. Thelinear distance between the lugs 90 is exactly equal to the lineardistance between adjacent carriers 12 on the conveyor chain 22. Thelinear speed of the conveyor chain 72 likewise is equal to the linearspeed of the main conveyor 22. The purpose of the lugs 90, is to causeentry of the containers into the carriers. As each unit container Cproceeds from the raceway 26 to the guideway 51, its movement isretarded by the spring-biased stop members 66 until it is engaged by oneof the lugs 90 whereupon it is moved out of engagement with the stopmembers and down the inclined guideway 51, as seen in FIG. 5. The lugs90 are located on the chain 72 so that the leading edge of every lug isdirectly over the leading edge of the interior opening of thecorresponding carrier 12. As the lug conducts the container downwardlyof the inclined guideway 51, it gradually approaches the carrier and asit nears the lowermost end of the guideway 51, it begins to settle intothe carrier. Thiswill be seen taking place at the right-hand end of FIG.5. By the time the containers C reach the idler sprocket 76 they havesettled into the carriers with their fianges 4 resting upon thesupporting lips 14 of the carriers and, as the conveyor chain 72 passesaround the idler sprocket 76 the lugs 90 are withdrawn from thecarriers, the containers being propelled entirely then by the carriers.

After becoming disengaged from the lugs 90 each of the carriers 12,which is then carrying an empty container, passes through the vacuumcleaning and pressing station 30 comprising a resilient presser member92 which urges every container into firm contact with its carrier 12.Adjacentthe presser member 92 is a conduit 94 which is connected to asource of vacuum. The diameter of the conduit 94 is slightly less thanthe outer diameter of the flange 4- of a container so that the lowersurface 96 of the conduit which engages the flange 4 will prevent thecontainer from being withdrawn from the carrier by the vacuum. However,any chip, dirt or other foreign material which may inadvertently haveentered into the container is removed therefrom.

After the containers C have been loaded, one to each carrier, and arevacuum cleaned they are conducted to the filling station 36 by passingaround the idler sprocket 32 and proceed through the machine in theabove described manner.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, andsecond conveyor means for moving each container at a selected speedalong a path overlying and gradually inclining toward said predeterminedpath to maintain registry between each container and its recessedcarrier for settling one container gradually into each recessed carrier.

2. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined toward the path ofmovement of the carriers, and a second conveyor for moving containers ata selected speed along the guideway to maintain registry between eachcontainer and its carrier for settling one container gradually into eachrecessed carrier.

3. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined downwardly toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers downwardly of the guideway toward the moving carriers, andmeans for moving both conveyors at the same linear speed, whereby onecontainer is gradually settled into each carrier.

4. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of Work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined downwardly toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers downwardly of the guideway toward the moving carriers, aplurality of lugs uniformly spaced on the second conveyor the samedistance apart as the carriers are spaced on the first conveyor, eachlug being engageable with a container, and means for moving bothconveyors at the same linear speed, whereby one container is moved by alug and gradually settled into a carrier.

5. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined toward the path ofmovement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving the containersalong the guideway toward the moving carriers, and a plurality ofpresser members on the second conveyor engageable with the upper surfaceof the containers for gradually forcing the containers into the movingrecessed carriers.

6. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a pinrality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined downwardly toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers downwardly of the guideway toward the moving carriers, aplurality of presser members on the second conveyor engageable with theupper surface of the containers, a plurality of lugs associated with thepresser members and uniformly spaced on the second conveyor the samedistance apart as the carriers are spaced on the first conveyor, andmeans for moving both conveyors at the same linear speed, whereby thepresser members and the lugs gradually settle one container into eachmoving carrier.

7. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined downwardly toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers downwardly of the guideway toward the moving carriers, andmeans for moving both conveyors at the same linear speed, whereby onecontainer is gradually settled into each moving carrier, and pressermeans located at the terminal end of the second conveyor and engageablewith the container carried by each carrier to urge the containerdownwardly into complete engagement with the carrier after it leaves thesecond conveyor.

8. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined downwardly toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers downwardly of the guideways toward the moving carriers, andmeans for moving both conveyors at the same linear speed whereby onecontainer'is gradually settled into each moving carrier, presser meanslocated at the terminal end of the second conveyor and engageable withthe container carried by each carrier to urge the container downwardlyinto complete engagement with the carrier after it leaves the secondconveyor, and vacuum cleaning means associated with the presser meansfor removing foreign matters from the containers after they have beenloaded into their carriers.

9. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, mews for moving eachcarrier mounted on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path,a container guideway positioned above and inclined downwardly toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers downwardly of the guideway toward the moving carriers, meansfor delivering containers to the guideway, yieldable spring means tostop each container as it reaches the guideway, a plurality of lugsuniformly spaced on the second conveyor the same distance apart as thecarriers are spaced on the first conveyor, and means for moving bothconveyors at the same linear speed with the lugs in predeterminedvertical alignment with the carriers, whereby each container is engagedby a lug and removed from the spring means and gradually settled intoits associated carrier.

10. In a machine for filling and capping containers, means fortransporting containers to a plurality of work stations comprising anendless conveyor mounting a plurality of container carriers, eachcarrier comprising an open-top, recessed body, means for moving eachcarrier on the conveyor successively along a predetermined path, acontainer guideway positioned above and inclined relatively toward thepath of movement of the carriers, a second conveyor for moving thecontainers along the guideway toward the moving carriers, and means formoving both conveyors at corresponding linear speeds whereby onecontainer is gradually settled into each carrier.

Koneman Apr. 7, 1903 Lewi July 28, 1959

